Public presentation for MSIP Candidate Harland Meltzer

Harland Meltzer, founder and producing artistic director of Rhode Island's Colonial Theatre, will conduct a public forum as he interviews for the position of artistic director of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the Black Box Theatre on the campus of Montana State University. The Black Box Theater is located in the Visual Communications Building at the corner of 11th and Grant.

Since Meltzer founded The Colonial Theatre in 1985, he has directed more than 150 main stage and Shakespeare in the Park productions, while producing an additional 60 shows in other venues. His work on the management side has included stints as associate general manager and company manager on Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. He directs at theatres regionally and in New York, where he has also received awards for his work with new plays. He has taught and directed at colleges and universities across the country, from the University of Rhode Island to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and he has extensive experience creating and running educational programs for schools in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Meltzer has served as theatre director for the Narragansett, R.I, School District, as the lead instructor for The Shakespeare Institute at SUNY Purchase, and he is a founding member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. Meltzer was an incorporator of the Westerly Public Library, and he serves on the advisory board of the Literacy Volunteers of America, Washington County chapter.

Meltzer graduated from Vassar College, and he has earned M.F.A. degrees in directing and in theatre management from Columbia University.

Meltzer is the third candidate to interview for the position of artistic director. The successful candidate will succeed Joel Jahnke, who retired earlier this year after 36 years with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks.

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks is an outreach program of MSU's College of Arts and Architecture. Performances each summer are supported by grants and corporate sponsorships as well as hundreds of individual donors who give what they can to keep the performances free and available to everyone in the touring area.